Lucknow: In remarks that could trigger controversy in the poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, senior BJP leader Vinay Katiyar said that the Ram temple issue will always be alive and no compromise can be made over it.
“The Ram mandir movement was started by me 30 years ago. It became the base for the giant leap of the BJP,” Mr Katiyar claimed.
He, however, refused to the link this temple issue with the Assembly polls. “There is no need to connect the Ram temple issue with state elections as it is an old matter. It must be raised every time until the temple is constructed,” he said.
Mr Katiyar’s remarks on the issue came a day after BJP state president Kashav Prasad Maurya allegedly had said a “grand” temple will be built in Ayodhya if the BJP secures an outright majority.
Reacting to these statements, BSP chief Mayawati urged the Chief Election Commissioner to take cognisance of the incident as the matter was pending in the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court had recently held that any appeal for votes on the ground of “religion, race, caste, community or language” amounted to “corrupt practice” under the election law.
“The BJP has accepted defeat and thus, its leaders are raking up religious issues,” she said.
